Ornamental belt buckle



Aug. 25: 1953 J. B. FREYSINGER ORNAMENTAL BELT BUCKLE Filed May 24, 1950 ZZZ- JOHNB. FPEYSJNGER Patented Aug. 25, 1953 ORNAMENTAL BELT BUCKLE John B. Freysinger, New Britain, Conn., assignor to North & Judd Manufacturing Company, New Britain, Ccnn., a corporation of Connecticut Application May 24, 1950, Serial No. 163,815

5 Claims.

This invention relates to ornamental belt buckles and particularly to the'types of buckles fastened to belts worn especially on mens trousers but it is to be understood that the invention is not to be restricted to belt buckles of this particular type.

Ornamental belt buckles of many types heretofore have been provided and particularly belt buckles having on the nose or otherwise initials, ornamental figures of many different kinds, finishes and ornaments made from difierent colors of material including different kinds of metal, as well as various kinds of non-metallic substances including synthetic resins, porcelain, enamel, and the like. However, if one type of belt buckle were appropriate for use with a certain color or style of trousers, for example, and the ornamentation of said buckle did not barmonize with another style of trouser, it was necessary to obtain an entirely different buckle to be harmonious with the second pair of trousers.

In view of this it was necessary for an individual to own a number of different kinds of belts or at least a number of difierent interchangeable belt buckles in order to have buckles which suitably harmonized with variou trousers worn at diiferent times by an individual.

Further, particularly in regard to initialed belt buckles, it was necessary for a haberdashery store to carry a full line of belt buckles with all letters of the alphabet respectively provided on the belt buckles so as to be able to provide a belt buckle of any desired initial for any customer purchasing a buckle. This practice has required stores to carry a large inventory of belt buckles and many of the less popular initials on the buckles would remain unsold for long periods of time, resulting in the proprietor having considerable capital invested in a relatively slow moving line of merchandise.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an ornamental belt buckle having a nosecapable of supporting a wide variety of ornamental nosepieces which are interchangeable and quickly detachably mounted on the nose of the buckle, whereby one nosepiece may be readily and quickly substituted for another so as to selectively render the belt buckle harmonious with various types or colors of trousers and other garments with which the use of a belt buckle of this nature is desired.

It is another object of the invention to construct the nose of the belt'buckle and the interchangeable and detachable nosepieces in such a manner that said nosepieces 'are' detachably 2 locked to the nose of the belt buckle in such manner that the nosepieces cannot readily or accidentally be separated from the nose of the buckle.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an ornamental buckle with a detachable ornamental nosepiece and with which either a conventional buckle tongue or a stud type tongue may be adapted with equal facility.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide an ornamental belt buckle with means for supporting on the nose thereof a wide variety of interchangeable and quickly detachable ornamental nosepieces, whereby only a limited number of different kinds and styles of belt buckles need be carried in stock by a haberdashery store, for example, and a very much larger range of differently ornamented nosepieces may be carried in stock whereby, if desired, a single buckle may be purchased by a customer and a number of different ornamental nosepieces may also be purchased for use with said buckles, whereby the number of buckles necessary to be purchased by the customer may be few while permitting selectively the use of any desired number of ornamental nosepieces with one or more of said buckles in order to provide any particular combination for the wearer as required for harmony with a particular style of color of garment.

Details of these objects and of the invention, as well as other objects thereof, are set forth in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawing forming a part thereof.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of an exemplary ornamental buckle having an ornamental nosepiece attached thereto in accordance with the present invention, said buckle being illustrated in operative position on a belt shown in dot and dash lines.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the belt buckle illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective exploded view of the nose end of the buckle and nosepiece illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of another embodiment of an ornamental buckle made in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective exploded vview of the embodiment of the buckle shown in Fig. 4 and illustrating the ornamental nosepiece separatedifrom the nose of the buckle.

Fig. 6 is still another embodiment of an oramental buckle made in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of an exemplary ornamental nosepiece such as used with the buckle shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of the buckle shown in Fig. 6.

Referring to the drawing, in which like reference characters are used to indicate like parts, the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 1 through 3 comprises a buckle l including a continuous generally rectangular frame formed by a chape i2 which is spaced longitudinally of the frame from the nose bar or nose l4, the latter being preferably flat and relatively long in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the buckle. The chape and nose are connected by side bars l6 preferably having parallel inner edges. Pivoted at one end to the chape i2 is a tongue [8. In actual use, the chape I2 is also secured to one end of the belt 20 diagrammatical ly illustrated in dot and dash lines in Fig, 1 and the other end 22 of the belt engages the tongue I8 in the conventional way.

The side bars [6 may be formed in one of a number of ornamental ways so as to be pleasing in appearance and a U-shaped nosepiece 24 is formed so that at least the front face 26 is ornamented so as preferably to harmonize with the side bars [6. The nosepiece 24 may be formed in a multitude of shapes and finishes from either flat sheet metal or otherwise so as to be readily bent into U-shape and being attachable to the fiat nose 14 by sliding the noseiece 24 onto the nose I4 from the inner end thereof until the bend of the nosepiece 24 abuts the inner edge of the nose [4.

The legs of the U-shaped nosepiece 24 preferably frictionally as well as slidably engage the opposite surfaces of the nose l4 and, inasmuch as the nosepiece is slidably moved onto the nose 14 from the inner edge thereof, there is practically no possibility of the nosepiece being accidentally removed from the nose during normal use thereof. However, to insure against such removal, except as when desired to exchange one nosepiece for another, interengaging locking means comprising a recess 28 and a detent 30, respectively formed in the rear surface of the nose [4 and rear leg of the nosepiece 24., are provided so as detachably to secure the nosepiece 24 to the nose I4. I

The outer end of the tongue 18 abuts the upper leg of the nosepiece 24 when in operative position as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The width of the nosepiece 24 in the preferred embodiment of the invention is substantially equal to or very slightly less than the distance between the inner edges of the side bars l6, whereby the ends of the bent portion of the nosepiece 2-4 will be automatically engageable with said inner edges of the side bars [6 and thereby prevent movement of the nosepiece transversely of the buckle 10, that is, transversely to the tongue [8. n

The outer leg of the nosepiece 24 is susceptible of being ornamented in a wide variety of styles including different shapes and color finishes. Not only may different-colored metals, such as gold, silver, copper, and the like be plated or otherwise fixed to the said outer leg of the nosepiece, but such other ornamenting material as porcelain, enamel, synthetic or genuine stones or gems, glass and innumerable others may be fixed to said outer leg so as to ornament the same. Further, raised or intaglio initials may be formed on said outer leg of the nosepiece 24, whereby only a selection of initialed hosepieces need be carried by a haberdashery store in order to provide a desired initial for any particular customer rather than carry a complete stock of entire buckles with various initials thereon. Material reduction in the quantity and value of stock required to be carried by a haberdashery store is thus made possible by the present invention and, in View of the lower cost of an initialed nosepiece as compared with a complete initialed buckle, it is obvious that much less capital will be invested in buckle stock by a haberdashery dealer.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 distinguishes from that shown in Figs. 1 -through '3 "in that, while the attachable nosepiece and. nose of the buckle are similar to those shown in Figs. 1 through 3, the buckle 32 has a stud type tongue 34 projecting a short distance from the inner end of the nose I5 toward the chape [2. The nosepiece has an ornamented front face 2 6. The bend 36 of the nosepiece 24 is provided intermediately of its side edges with an aperture 38 through which the tongue 34 extends when the nosepiece is mounted in operative position on the nose l5, as illustrated in Fig. 4. If desired, the nosepiece 24 and nose 15 may be provided with interengageable locking means similar to the recess 28 and deten-t 30 illustrated in Fig. '2. It will be understood of course that the stud type tongue 34 is received within one of the conventional holes in the belt end 22 and the other end of the belt is connected to the chape IQ of the buckle.

Figs. 6 through 8 illustrate still another embodiment of the invention in which the buckle 39 is similar to that shown in Figs. 1 through 3 except that 'a different type of tongue is used. The tongue 40 of the buckle shown in Figs. 6 through '8 comprises a stud type tongue similar to tongue 34 in Figs. 4 and 5 except that in Figs. "6 through 8 the stud tongue 49 is rigidly fixed to and-is preferably integral with the nosepiece 2 and extends from the upper ornamental surface 26 thereof a short distance toward the chape 12, as clearly shown in particular in Figs. 6 and 8. The tongue 40 may be effectively and inexpensively formed by being struck from the inner leg of the nosepiece 24* so as to leave a slot 4-2 therein, as shown in Figs. 6 and 8. The end of the slot 42 nearest the outer end of the nose I"! may also be formed to provide a locking tongue 44 which extends toward the front leg of the nosepiece 24 whereby the end of the tongue is receivable within a locking notch or recess 46 formed within the rear surface of the nose "H.

It will thus be seen that the locking means 44 and -46 of the embodiment shown in Figs. 6 through 8 will releasably retain the nosepiece 24 onthe nose I! and prevent accidental removal of said nosepiece from the nose. However, the nosepiece 24* may be readily removed from the nose I! {of the buckle merely by inserting the fingernail or a knife blade between the rear leg of the nosepiece and the rear surface of the nose I so as to disengage the tongue M. from the recess '46 and then slide the nosepiece 24 toward the 'ch'ape l2. Another type or style of nosepiece may then be substituted for the one just removed. This function pertains to all embodiments of the invention.

Itwill be understood, of course, that the nosepieces 24* and 24, illustrated in the embodiments respectively shown in Figs. 4 and 5 and Figs. 6 through 8, are susceptible of all of the various ornamentations explained above relative to the nosepiece 24 illustrated in the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 through 3.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the present invention provides an ornamental buckle capable of having a wide variety of ornamental nosepie-ces detachably secured to the nose of the buckle frame so as to permit the combination of various kinds and styles of nosepieces with a number of different shapes, styles, and finishes of buckle frames to provide innumerable possibilities of combinations of differently ornamented buckle assemblies. This is all possible at much less expense than providing ornamental buckles made in accordance with present practice in the art. Thus, at relatively small expense, a customer may obtain a relatively wide range of different kinds or styles of ornamental belts merely by purchasing one or two different buckle frames and a reasonable number of differently ornamented nosepieces which can be interchangeably and quickly secured to and removed from said frames. Similarly, haberdashery stores will be able to furnish a customer with a much wider range of differently ornamented buckles at lower cost than heretofore and without requiring nearly as much investment in buckle stock as is now required to provide a comparable range of different buckles.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in its preferred embodiments and has included certain details, it should be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the precise details herein illustrated and described since the same may be carried out in other ways, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim as my invention:

1. An ornamental belt buckle comprising a continuous generally rectangular frame including a chape and a fiat relatively long nose spaced opposite each other and connected together by side bars, and a replaceable ornamental U-shaped attachment having spaced apart parallel platelike legs, the legs of which frictionally and slidably engage the front and rear surfaces of said nose to substantially cover the same, the bend of said attachment abutting the inner edge of said nose when mounted in operative position thereon and the side edges of said attachment being substantially contiguous to the side bars of said frame.

2. An ornamental belt buckle comprising a continuous generally rectangular frame including a chape and a fiat relatively long nose spaced opposite each other and connected together by side bars, an ornamental U-shaped nosepiece mounted on said nose having spaced apart parallel plate-like legs frictionally and slidably engaging the front and rear surfaces of said nose to substantially cover the same, the bend of said nosepiece abutting the inner edge of said nose when mounted in operative position thereon and the side edges of said nosepiece being substantially contiguous to the side bars of said frame, said notch and detent locking means on the rear leg of said nosepiece and rear surface of said nose releasably engaging each other detachably to secure said nosepiece to said nose.

3. An ornamental belt buckle comprising a continuous generally rectangular frame including a chape and a flat relatively long nose spaced opposite each other and connected together by side bars, a replaceable ornamental U-shaped nosepiece having spaced apart parallel platelike legs which frictionally and slidably engage the front and rear surfaces of said nose, the bend of said nosepiece abutting the inner edge of said nose when mounted in operative position thereon and the width of said nosepiece being substantially equal to the distance between the side bars of said frame, said nosepiece being removable by movement inwardly of the buckle, and a stud tongue rigidly carried by said nosepiece and extending therefrom toward said chape but terminating short thereof.

i. An ornamental belt buckle comprising a continuous generally rectangular frame including a chape and a flat relatively long nose spaced opposite each other and connected together by side bars, a replaceable ornamental U-shaped nosepiece having spaced apart parallel platelike legs which frictionally and slidably engage the front and rear surfaces of said nose, the bend of said nosepiece abutting the inner edge of said nose when mounted in operative position thereon and the width of said nosepiece being substantially equal to the distance between the side bars of said frame, said nosepiece being removable by movement inwardly of the buckle, and a stud tongue struck from the rear leg of said nosepiece and bent outward from the bend thereof so as to extend rigidly from the upper leg of said nosepiece toward said chape but terminating short thereof.

5. An ornamental belt buckle comprising a continuous generally rectangular frame including a chape and a relatively long nose spaced opposite each other and connected together by side bars, a stud tongue rigidly connected to said nose and projecting from the inner edge thereof toward said chape but terminating short thereof, and a replaceable ornamental U-shaped nosepiece having spaced apart parallel plate-like legs which frictionally and slidably engage the front and rear surfaces of said nose and the width of said nosepiece being substantially equal to the distance between the side bars of said frame, said nosepiece being removable by movement inwardly of the buckle, the bend of said nosepiece abutting said inner edge of said nose when mounted in operative position thereon and said bend also having an opening through which said stud tongue on said nose extends.

JOHN B. FREYSINGER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date D. 27,134 Smith June 1, 1897 1,186,163 Baxter June 6, 1916 1,273,340 Eklund July 23, 1918 1,353,331 Erpenbeck Sept. 21, 1920 2,066,914 Staples Jan. 5, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 771,554 France July 30, 1934 

